This season, American soprano Chanae Curtis returned to Welsh National Opera to perform the roles of Bridget/Emelda in Will Todd’s ambitious new opera Migrations which was premiered in Cardiff earlier in 2022. She will also perform the role of Alice Ford in Falstaff with Opera San Jose and later this season, she will debut in Jeanine Tesori's Blue at English National Opera. Next season, she makes her debut at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, singing the role of Curra in Verdi’s La forza del destino.
Last season, Chanae made two role debuts, as Violetta Valéry in Wolf Trap Opera’s production of La Traviata and Nedda in I Pagliacci with Memphis Opera. She also returned to the Metropolitan Opera to perform the roles of Countess Ceprano in Rigoletto, and 2nd Pit Singer in Hamlet having made her house debut there during the 2019/20 season as Annie and cover Lily in Porgy & Bess. Chanae made her house debut with WNO in 2019 as Anna Gomez in Menotti’s The Consul, as part of their ‘Freedom’ season.
Concert highlights include a performance of Strauss’s Four Last Songs at St. David’s Hall, as well as a guest appearance at Buckingham Palace, performing for His Royal Highness, Prince Charles. She also created and performed a recording of an original sound-work to accompany an exhibition celebrating the life and work of the artist Gwen John. Other notable roles for Chanae include Musetta in La Bohème, Countess Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro, and Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte. Later this season, Chanae will be guest soloist in Mahler’s Symphony n°4 with Orchestre Nationale de Bretagne in Rennes.
Chanae holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Ashland University, a Master of Music from the Manhattan School of Music, and Master of Arts in Opera, with distinction, from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.
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Bach
Magnificat in D Major BWV 243
Fauré
Requiem Op. 89
Handel
Messiah HWV 56
Handel
Seven last Words of Christ
Mendelssohn
Elijah Op. 70
Strauss
Four Last Songs
Strauss
Morgen
Bach
Magnificat in D Major BWV 243
Handel
Seven last Words of Christ
Mendelssohn
Elijah Op. 70
Britten
Albert HerringLady Billows
Donizetti
Anna BolenaAnna Bolena (cover)
Gershwin
Porgy & BessAnnie/ cover Lily
Jake Heggie
Dead Man WalkingSister Rose
Janáček
The Cunning Little VixenForester's Wife; Mrs Pasek
Leoncavallo
I PagliacciNedda
Menotti
The ConsulAnna Gomez
Mozart
Così fan tutteFiordiligi
Mozart
Le nozze di FigaroCountess Almaviva
Puccini
La Bohème Mimi
Rodgers
The Sound of MusicSister Margaretta
Tesori, Jeanine
BlueGirlfriend 1/ Nurse
Thomas, Ambroise
Hamlet2nd Pit Singer
Todd, Will
MigrationsBridget/ Emelda
Todd, Will
Migrations Bridget/ Emelda
Verdi
Falstaff Alice Ford
Verdi
La TraviataVioletta
Verdi
RigolettoCountess Ceprano
Britten
Albert Herring
Lady Billows
Donizetti
Anna Bolena
Anna Bolena (cover)
Gershwin
Porgy & Bess
Annie/ cover Lily
Jake Heggie
Dead Man Walking
Sister Rose
Janáček
The Cunning Little Vixen
Forester's Wife; Mrs Pasek
Leoncavallo
I Pagliacci
Nedda
Menotti
The Consul
Anna Gomez
Mozart
Così fan tutte
Fiordiligi
Mozart
Le nozze di Figaro
Countess Almaviva
Rodgers
The Sound of Music
Sister Margaretta
Tesori, Jeanine
Blue
Girlfriend 1/ Nurse
Thomas, Ambroise
Hamlet
2nd Pit Singer
Todd, Will
Migrations
Bridget/ Emelda
Todd, Will
Migrations
Bridget/ Emelda
Verdi
Falstaff
Alice Ford
Verdi
La Traviata
Violetta
Verdi
Rigoletto
Countess Ceprano
Opera
Alice Ford in Verdi's Falstaff for Opera San Jose
The San Francisco Chronicle
As Alice Ford, the chief (though not the only) object of Falstaff’s amorous attentions, Chanáe Curtis unleashed a soprano of lustrous beauty, singing with elegant phrasing and quiet power.
Alice Ford in Verdi's Falstaff for Opera San Jose
San Francisco Classical Voice
Alice Ford (the splendid soprano Chanáe Curtis). Alice feels the effects of her husband’s anxieties. Their impact was powerfully conveyed by Curtis as she read aloud Falstaff’s seduction letter; he offers her “un amor ridente” (a happy love) — something she clearly does not find with Ford. Curtis has sung other tragic women (such as Violetta in Verdi’s La traviata and Nedda in Ruggero Leoncavallo’s I Pagliacci); I hope someday to hear her again as the unhappy Countess in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro, a role Verdi surely had in mind as he wrote Falstaff
Alice Ford in Verdi's Falstaff for Opera San Jose
Bay City News Foundation
Soprano Chanáe Curtis gave a splendid performance as Alice Ford; singing with clarity and precision, she illuminated the role with pinpoint comic timing and gorgeous tone.
Alice Ford in Verdi's Falstaff for Opera San Jose
Cordellreports.com
Falstaff’s nemesis, Alice Ford, provides a counterbalance. Played brilliantly by Chanáe Curtis, Mistress Ford possesses enterprise and quick wit to defeat him. Curtis exudes charm and a full range lyric soprano with considerable power in the mid and upper portions.
Violetta in La Traviata for Wolf Trap Opera
Opera News
Curtis showed off a warm, accurate, evenly produced soprano. She never stinted on expression, reaching an intense peak in the finale. After a subtly teary reading of the letter, Curtis offered a finely spun, sculpted “Addio del passato.
Léontine in Bologne's L’Amant Anonyme for Wolftrap Opera with the National Symphony Orchestra
Parterre Box
Chanáe Curtis’s gleaming Léontine rightly dominated the performance...Curtis boldly handled those demanding showpieces with aplomb; her large, warm soprano, secure throughout. I’ll be interested to follow the progress of this promising soprano
Violetta in La Traviata for Wolf Trap Opera
MD Theater Guide
Violetta’s (Curtis) “È strano!...Ah, fors’ è lui” (“It’s strange! Perhaps he is the one”), delivered with ease and power, as well as a searing rendition of the duet, “Dite alla giovine, sì bella e pura
Violetta in La Traviata for Wolf Trap Opera
Washington Classical Review
As Violetta, Chanáe Curtis showed herself to be a magnificent singer as well as a convincing actress... Curtis threw herself passionately into Violetta’s plight and made us feel the full weight of her suffering.
Léontine in Bologne's L’Amant Anonyme for Wolftrap Opera with the National Symphony Orchestra
Opera News
As Léontine, the widowed aristocrat whose hapless marriage left her leery of love, soprano Chanáe
Curtis sang with bright, centered tone and agile technique, especially in her second act aria, “Du
tendre amour.
Léontine in Bologne's L’Amant Anonyme for Wolftrap Opera with the National Symphony Orchestra
OperaGene
Soprano Chanáe Curtis, a returning Filene Artist, sang the role of Léontine, a widow who had sworn
off love. Her vocals grew more assured as the night progressed, finally showcasing her beautiful
coloratura in an aria that begins “Such is love’s power..
Léontine in Bologne's L’Amant Anonyme for Wolftrap Opera with the National Symphony Orchestra
Washington Classical Review
Chanáe Curtis, a soprano originally hailing from Washington, D.C. sang Léontine with a noble and lyrical tone, backed up with gleaming high notes in her first aria in Act I. She added agility to the display in running passages for her Act II aria, sung as she adjusted her hair and makeup, waiting for the big reveal of the letter writer. Her French pronunciation, both spoken and sung, was clear and fluent.
Annie in Gershwin's Porgy and Bess at the Metropolitan Opera, New York
Limelight Magazine, Clive Puget
Lily and Annie, are strongly cast with Tichina Vaughn and Chanáe Curtis both making you wish they had more to sing.
Annie in Gershwin's Porgy and Bess at the Metropolitan Opera, New York
The Wall Street Journal (Heidi Waleson)
Chanae Curtis (Annie) had lively, witty cameos.
Anna Gomez in Menotti's 'The Consul' for Welsh National Opera
Opera Wire
The soprano, Chanae Curtis, as Anna Gomez made brief, but notable contributions, possessing a fresh and attractive voice
Lady Billows in Albert Herring with the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, April 2015
Seen and Heard International
Impressive fortissimo and sassy antics
Alice Ford in Falstaff with the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, June 2016
Arts Scene in Wales
Chanae Curtis is a marvellous dramatic lynch pin as Alice Ford
Concerts & Recitals
Recital at St Martin-in-the-Fields, London, November 2017
The Cross Eyed Pianist
Chanae Curtis has a truly superb voice: velvety caramel in tone. She also has a tremendous range of colour and force
